Luke Alsford
Published December 2, 2025 7:51am
Updated December 2, 2025 8:00am
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Adam fears a light beard shave could have got him kicked out of the app
A delivery rider has been permanently banned from Just Eat after the app’s ‘ID verification did not recognise his shaved beard’.
Adam Stockley, 35, was kicked off the platform after seven years working for the takeaway business because their software could not verify his identity.
He claims Just Eat’s ID checks rejected his less stubbly look compared to his beardy passport photo.
The ‘ruthless’ process has left London-based Adam, who has been cycling for the firm for seven years, fearful for thousands of pounds worth of income as he questions whether a human ever looked at his case.
The courier now prefers a more clean shaven look (Picture: Adam Stockley)
Adam’s passport photo had more facial hair than what he currently dons (Picture: Adam Stockley)
He told Metro: ‘They’re just purposely neglecting their couriers.
‘I’ve just trimmed my beard to a stubble – it’s not like I’ve like ate loads of food and gained weight or something. I have the exact same face.
‘It is impossible that a human looked at my request and denied it.’
Just Eat said it was urgently investigating Adam’s case and insisted its facial recognition technology can adapt to changes in hairstyles or facial hair.
The London-based takeaway rider says Just Eat has ramped up efforts to check the ID of workers in the last few months in a crack down on illegal workers on its platforms.
This includes every time he logs into the app and in the middle of a shift.
However Adam has battled issues with the face verification system the company uses, which involves holding showing a live picture of your face for the app to scan.
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He claims the issue stems from a facial hair makeover.
Adam’s official passport photo from a few years ago has a thicker and more obvious beard, whereas in recent months he’s ditched that look for a light stubble.
The email permanently banning Adam gave no reason as to why he failed the reconsideration request (Picture: Adam Stockley)
The app scans your face to check your ID – Adam recorded a video of the process before he was banned permanently (Picture: Adam Stockley)
He claims this has stopped the app’s checker from recognising his face, leading to numerous failed ID verification scans.
His account has been deactivated three times in recent months, but on each occasion he’s been allowed back on the platform after submitting a request for reconsideration.
After giving his beard another trim in mid-November, he claims the verification failures skyrocketed and he wasn’t getting recognised at all.
He said: ‘I trimmed my beard and the problem got worse. I just wasn’t being recognised, not even once.
‘If there was a human, they’d recognize me because it’s clearly me. If you use human eyes you can tell that’s the same person.’
Just Eat deactivated his account again in the middle of a run on November 25.
In an email seen by Metro, Just Eat told Adam: ‘Due to multiple instances where we were unable to verify your identity, to keep the network safe and secure for all users, your account has been temporarily suspended.’
The 35-year-old submitted a reconsideration request as usual but was rejected just a few hours later.
Adam has been a delivery rider for nine years – seven of those with Just Eat (Picture: Adam Stockley)
The company told Adam he was permanently banned and could not create a new account.
He said: ‘There is no reason given. That’s the worst thing.
‘Just Eat was quite nice in terms of the pay but then they just seem to be very ruthless.
‘After seven years of service and thousands of deliveries.’
Have you faced similar issues with facial recognition? Email [email protected]
Adam claims the reason for his rejection is a flaw in the tech and a failure to recognise his face after the shave.
He suggested: ‘It is the only thing that makes logical sense because I have a bit of a beard in my passport photo. It is definitely that, or the AI is just rubbish.
‘It is impossible that a human looked at my request and denied it.’
Adam has desperately tried to get in touch with Just Eats team but claims he has been ignored or fobbed off.
Metro has seen messages sent to the company’s X account where Adam is told they only respond to customers their social media chat.
After begging the delivery giant to allow him back on the platform, he fears he could lose out on thousands of pounds.
Adam has served Just Eat for seven years
His yearly earnings is estimated to be around £2,000 from deliveries, which he also loves due to his passion for bike riding.
Adam is now raising awareness of what he says happened online and is hoping to promote changes to the ID verification system.
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A Just Eat spokesperson said: ‘Couriers are the backbone of our business – they work hard to deliver millions of orders every week and we want to make it easy for them to do so.
‘Our strengthened daily facial recognition checks are designed to prevent abuse of the system, however, those with the Right to Work in the UK should not be impacted.
‘These third-party checks are incredibly sophisticated and can adapt to changes, such as variations of hair styles or facial hair.
‘We’re urgently investigating the issues with Adam’s account and will update him as soon as possible.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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